I see some cover artists that blow the mainstream artists away...but in some cases the mainstream singer is just plain better.

Recently I saw a guy named Nick Gardner on youtube singing "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele. Of course she sings it well but he is quite good, too.

I also see a group named Cimorelli that is currently crossing over into being famous themselves. They are in a teen choice award contest. They are 6 sisters ages 12-21 I believe. I feel that the youngest sister holds them down a bit. The 18 year old named Lisa is gorgeous and clearly star material and the best singer in the group. Try looking up "skyscraper cimorelli" on youtube and compare to Demi Lovato's version.

I would appreciate any recommended cover artists that you know of and your opinions on mainstream vs amateur artists....

Oh one last thing... Do you feel "autotuning" is good or bad? I actually like it in most cases but not always. Sometimes I feel lied to...

The main difference between mainstream and amateur artists is simply how well they networked their way into the spotlight. Talent has less to do with it than who you know. Well, that's the way the established music industry used to work, things like youtube are starting to change that.

As for covers... Jimi Hendrix with All Along the Watchtower, Johnny Cash with Hurt, Sunday Morning Coming Down, well, any of his tracks he covered on his last few albums were pretty great. Eva Cassidy sang a lot of covers and had an amazing voice. Igor Presnyakov does solo acoustic guitar covers and he is absolutely amazing.

In the Jazz and Blues genres they are constantly doing covers of common staples. Also, once you start digging around in live recordings almost every artist or group does covers. Better is all up to taste, I guess. Sometimes someone is an amazing writer and only a decent singer / musician, Bob Dylan comes to mind. People cover him all the time. But they cover him because they are amazing songs.

On autotune.. I don't really care on a produced track. Sometimes it sounds decent.

How commercialized a singer is doesn't equate to how talented they are. Doesn't mean that all mainstream artists are bad or all cover artists are good, if you look at singers in those terms it won't really make a difference. The only thing is when mainstream artists suck all the hype that they get makes them seem even worse. Ashestoashes (on youtube) is probably my favorite cover artist, even if he is such a tease. His voice is just really... sweet and pleasant to hear over and over again.

Autotune is kinda annoying in my opinion at least. I feel like it hides a singer's true potential :/ It can sound good for some songs, but that doesn't mean it makes them sound better.

I often hear songs recently done a cover by the band called Boyce AvenueI like it, so maybe you can check it for yourself...So far my favorite cover artist is Marie Digby she's awesome! ;)

Mainstream and Cover Artist i do not find them like competing in my opinion. It gives more versatility to the song and somewhat a comparability for each respective artist. May it be Mainstream or Cover so be it. Hopefully those mainstream will make good songs and lyrics and those Cover Artist hopefully they will be given a chance and get notice for what they showcase to the music industry itself. They should work together for the benefit of music as a self express art and medium in-tune to the soul